Daycare Under Investigation for Abandoning Baby, Mistaking Her for a Doll

The Chicago Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the All Things Are Possible for Kids daycare after 1-year-old Journee Jones was locked inside unattended Tuesday. The daycare staff allegedly mistook her for a doll when they were wrapping up for the day, Fox 32 reports.

Journee's father Cornelius called the police immediately when he arrived at the daycare — he says he was there 15 minutes before closing time — and found the doors locked and the lights off. He could hear his daughter crying from the outside: "I was terrified and I was also hurt because I knew she was in there in the dark and I couldn't get to her."

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Jones shared cell phone footage of police breaking into the building with ABC 7 and described the relief he felt when he saw Journee on the floor illuminated only by police lights. "It was dramatic feeling," he said. "I didn't know what to feel like, my heart dropped. I was just glad she was okay."

ABC 7

The director of the daycare apologized directly to the Jones family and said her employees believed Journee was a doll, not a real baby, when they were wrapping up for the day. Other workers said they were in the back of the building at the time the police came so Journee technically wasn't alone, but there has been no confirmation of that so far.

The daycare's Facebook page has been cleared of all recent posts, but a barrage of angry commenters feel the facility should be closed permanently:

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According to Fox 32, the DCFS has never found major fault with the facility before though they did have minor paperwork issues with them in the past. The Jones family removed Journee from daycare and has no plans to re-enroll her for now.

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